1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to therapeutic seating appliances for invalid or handicapped patients, and more particularly, to a seat appliance that accommodates an orthosis and a patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need for a seat appliance that securely accommodates an orthosis, such as a GILLETTE seating orthosis, that conforms to the body of an individual patient, such as a child, to maintain body alignment and prevent deformities. The term "orthosis" as used herein includes, in addition to custom molded arrangements adapted to the specific physiology of a particular patient, other seating inserts for patients, such as students, that require more support than is provided by a conventional chair. The prior art provides various forms of walkers, table potty chairs, wheelchairs, and the like, which fall short of fulfilling certain needs of invalid or otherwise handicapped children. For example, it is desired that an invalid or handicapped child or student disposed on a seating appliance be positioned such that the student is brought closer to his or her peers. Such proximity provides significant psychological advantage to the student as it reduces the psychological impact of the ever-present hospital-like structures, including the seating appliance, the orthosis, etc. Known arrangements often include associated work tables for the students, because the structure of such known appliances often requires predetermined cut-outs in the table to accommodate the student and the seating appliance. Thus, in a conventional setting, the handicapped or invalid students are separated from one another and perform their classroom work on individual tables associated with their respective seat appliances. Such isolation limits interaction between the students, and since conventional seating appliances are bulky, the students cannot avoid the constant reminder of the hospital-like environment.
There is additionally a need for a mobile orthosis seat arrangement wherein a broader range of physical therapies can be administered to the patients than can be administered in a conventional handicapped seating arrangement. Such a seat should provide easy access for therapists to facilitate desired movements or hand-over-hand patterning for the patient. Such enhanced ergonomics would reduce the possibility of injury to the patients. In addition, there is a need for a streamlined orthosis seat appliance wherein a student can be brought, at an appropriate height, to a table work surface, such as a classroom table, with or without a cut-out. In addition, the improved seating appliance should facilitate the spatial orientation of the orthosis with the patient thereon to facilitate the administration of therapies to improve muscle tone and head and neck control.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a patient suffering from a motor impairment, the mobile orthosis seat arrangement accommodating a seating orthosis in which the patient is seated.
It is another object of this invention to provide an adjustable mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a patient that is seated in a seating orthosis, wherein the patient can be brought to a table at a predetermined correct patient-to-table relationship.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a compact mobile orthosis seat arrangement whereby the number of orthosis seats that can be arranged about a table is increased over known arrangements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a child in a seating orthosis, wherein motion of the arms of the child is not restricted.
It is additionally an object of this invention to provide an orthosis seat arrangement wherein therapies for improving muscle tone and head and neck control of the patient are easily administered.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted in response to a physical size characteristic of the patient.
It is also another object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted in response to a physical size characteristic of an operator or therapist of the patient.
It is yet an additional object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted to place the patient in a predetermined spatial orientation, such as tipped from front to back or from side to side, to facilitate the administration of physical therapy.